Kalaburagi Rotti: a local cuisine packs up to go places

The Kalaburagi District administration’s initiative to economically empower women by leveraging their traditional cooking skills and locally available resources is gaining momentum.

The Kalaburagi District administration’s initiative to economically empower women by leveraging their traditional cooking skills and locally available resources is gaining momentum. Its efforts to capitalise on the popularity of jowar and bajra rottis, a staple in north Karnataka, by bringing women rotti producers onto a common cooperative platform and selling them under the Kalaburagi Rotti brand, are evoking a good response.

Launched by Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge at Kalaburagi on March 13, Kalaburagi Rotti is now set to open its first outlet for offline sale in Kalaburagi. More are set to be launched in franchisee model in the days to come. The products were hitherto being sold online.

“The primary mode of sale rottis is online, both on its website (https://kalaburagirotti.com/) and other online marketplaces. As part of our plans to offline stores, especially in Kalaburagi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad in a franchise model, the first outlet is going to be opened near Appa Lake in Kalaburagi shortly,” Samad Patel, the Joint Director of Agriculture who is associated with the initiative, told The Hindu.

“Kalaburagi district has 90% rain-fed area under cultivation where jowar and bajra, apart from pulses such as red gram, black gram and green gram, are abundantly grown,” said Kalaburagi Deputy Commissioner Fouzia Taranum, explaining the idea behind the initiative.

Kalaburagi Rotti Producers Sahakara Sangha, a cooperative society, was formed and registered. Rotti makers, especially women, who were already provided with subsidised rotti-making machines under government schemes, were brought together to produce rottis for the cooperative. The systems of box packing, barcode, transportation, and other logistics were put in place.

The cooperative currently includes around 100 women and self-help groups, with 500 people directly employed and an additional 200 indirectly benefiting from the venture. Rottis are procured at ₹5 each from producers and sold at ₹11, covering transportation, online marketplace commissions, GST, and handling charges.

“Our pricing is still competitive compared to other private players. We have served around 2500 customers so far,” said an officer associated with the initiative. Apart from Jowar and Bajra rottis which are sold in packs of 10, the cooperative society also offers Dhapati Rotti and Shenga Holige (groundnut sweet bread), and Shenga Hindi (groundnut chutney).